Picking Up the Pieces
by Red-Leader-South
Summary: Dally and Johnny are gone but now the gang has some new friends that are a bit prettier and a lot more fun to snuggle with. Part I is done and Part 2 has just begun! PB POV.
1. Making Things Better

Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders. Never have. Never will. But I do own the characters you don't know.

Chapter 1: Making it Better

Note: This is a story I'm writing at school that is 2 parts with 103 pages, and takes up two notebooks.

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Lately, every day's been the same. Incredibly quiet and very dreary. I wake up and Darry's reading the newspaper and Soda's showering. Breakfast is quiet and I hate it. I've never liked silence, it's too...quiet. Somehow it's become awkward between me and Darry again and Soda's caught in the middle. I could sense another akward moment coming when Soda was fixing to leave the room. Just the tension between us was enough to make me wanna leave. At the doorway, Darry stopped me, "Hey...wait up, Pony. Tonight, do you want to see a movie?" Immediately, I whirled around. Did Darrel just ask me if I wanted to see a movie? He couldn't stand movies and found them awful boring. But he knew I loved 'em. He had a strange shy sort of look on his face as I stared at him, "Sure, I-I'd like that." He smiled broadly, "We'll go after I get off work." My head bobbed curiously but was translated to a makeshift 'yes'. I turned around and plopped on the couch. Since no one tackled me, I assumed that Sodapop was already on his way to work. A movie with Darry. The idea was strange in my head, I thought as I took a drag on my cig. I couldn't picture him sitting still for an hour mind as well two. Man, this would be a disaster and make things even more eerie. Oh well, let's see what happens. 

I fell asleep and slept through the whole afternoon. Darry shook me awake at about seven, "You comin' or not?" I smiled, feeling better about the evening he had planned and nodded. Darry seemed really happy that we were spending some quality time together. I told him about different movies and good ones and bad ones and he seemed genuinely interested.

The movie that was playing was strange and had a lot of explosions and girls in bikinis. It held Darry's interest though. This surprised me but it was good. He'd parked the car a little ways away purposely so we could talk on the walk back. He kept talking about different scenes from the movie and I truly loved it. It wasn't awkward anymore! We were brothers again! Unexpectedly, he stopped walking and I bumped into him. Before I could look to see what the hold-up was, Darry's hand was pushing me away. Then, I noticed that he was standing straight up like he does when he's gotta look tough and his right fist clenched.

I finally saw what had alarmed him. A seriously drunk Soc stumbled out of the alleyway. I thought that he would turn around and try to belt Darry but he didn't even notice us. He had on the traditional blue madras jacket but it was covered with dirt. The creep had bright red hair and a wide face. Oi, he was a stringbean, tall and freakishly thin. He wandered back into the alley but came right back out talking to a much shorter blond woman. It was too dark to see her clearly but she looked awful pretty. The Soc snaked his arms around her waist but she pushed him away. He tried it again and this time she slugged him right in the stomach. Casually, the girl lit a weed and walked by us without a glance as the Soc doubled over and threw up.

I don't know why I said it but I did, "Hey, didn't you used to go to my high school?" Darry whirled around just as fast as she did, "Probably. What's your name, kid?" Her voice sounded familiar in some way but I couldn't place it. Darry was eyeing her like a hawk, "Erk, Ponyboy." She took a drag, "Yeah, I think I remember seeing you around. I'm Jess, Jess O' Malley." I smiled, ignoring Darry, "We hung out for awhile. Right? You're Red Leader?" It was Jess's turn to laugh, "That's right! It's nice to see you again, Pony. I gotta be goin' but you should come hang out down South sometime and visit me." "Will do." I replied cheerily. Darry cleared his throat rather loudly which either meant that he wanted to leave or that he wanted to be introduced, "Oh, sorry. Jess this is my older brother, Darry." She tipped her head at him, "Nice to meet you Darry. I'm Jess. Well, I better be gettin' down to my turf 'fore I get jumped. See you two around and say 'hi' to Sodapop for me." She disappeared around the corner and we continued walking the other way towards the car. Eventually, Darry asked, "What'd you two mean by 'Red Leader'?" I chuckled, "Ever heard of the Reds? Well, they're a gang on the South side of town. They're pretty much greasers but are a bit classier and are all girls." It took him awhile to process but he finally stated bluntly, "She was real pretty." I laughed at him as we got in the car and drove off.


	2. Back Again

**Chapter 2: Making it Better**

**Definitely longer than Chapter 1 and better I think. **

**I do not own the Outsiders (sob) but I do own Jess, Bec, and any other character you don't know. **I

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In the morning, Soda made us pancakes and Darry slept in cause it was finally the weekend. After three too many pancakes, I went looking for my old school binder. It was red and tattered but it still held all the papers I was too lazy to clean out. 20 minutes later, I found what I was looking for. A small piece of paper located deep in the pocket. Written in small letters was Jess's name and number. I rewrote the number on a new piece of paper and shoved it in my pocket. When I came out, everybody was up and it was mine and Darry's turn to do the dishes. Every one and awhile, Darry would splash water on me and would start a water fight.

Strangely, I picked up 'Gone with the Wind' and stared at the cover for awhile. Everything about it reminded me of Johnny Cade. Man, I miss him. He was pretty much my brother. Not how Darry and Soda are but in a more spiritual life-force sort of way. Come to think of it, everyone in the gang is my brother. I forgot entirely about reading the book and let my mind wander into spiritual brothers and other things I'd never thought about. A sharp 'bang' made me jump and Darry stormed into the room. I looked to see if he'd broken the door when he came in, and got a look of 'im. Just by his face I could tell he was dangerously angry. He grabbed a beer that Two-Bit had left, lit a weed, and sat down, brooding.

Soda came in cautiously, "What's wrong, Darry?"

All he got in return was a sullen, "Nothing."

Soda looked at me helplessly, "You ok?" I squeaked out.

He was starting to get angrier, "No."

"Darry—" I started but was cut short,

"Did you do your homework?" Oh, crap my homework.

"N—Not yet." He stood up and yelled,

"Pony, you have to take school seriously. How do you expect to get into college with that attitude!"

I couldn't believe it, he was yelling at me again.

After what he promised…

"What if I don't want to go to college? Don't I get a freaking choice!"

I heard Soda plead beside me, "C'mon guys. Don't yell, please."

But Darry continued anyway, "What happens when you find out you don't wanna be a roofer or work on cars and no one else will take you because you didn't go to college?"

Soda was getting louder, "PLEASE, stop yelling. Both of you, stop!"

To my shock, Darry wheeled on him, "No! He needs to learn how important his schoolwork is! You're just as irresponsible as he is. Someone actually has to be mature around here sometime!" He just kept going. When he yelled at me, it bugged me but I was **not** going to let him yell at Soda. My fist clenched and I ran at him. I punched Darry as hard as I could in the stomach. Immediately, all the yelling stopped and everyone stared at me. I screamed with tears running down my face,

"Don't you yell at him! He's a better brother than you'll ever be!"

I saw Darry go pale as I ran out into the night.

I didn't know it was raining until the cold drops hit me. With my vision blurred I ran long and hard. There was rage in my throat and my feet were starting to hurt. My knees let out in a small patch of grass and I started to sob,

"He's never never never gonna change. Ever!" My fists pounded on the ground as I bawled. After awhile, I realized that I had no idea where I was. Wiping my tears away, I stood up and looked around to try and recognize something. But nothing was familiar. So I just let my feet plod along somewhere as long as I didn't end up at home. My eyes slid shut and I drifted off to sleep.

My wish had been granted. There was a nice warm bed under my back and I was definitely not back at my house. My head was throbbing something awful as I sat up and looked around. This was a nice room. It was really clean and white. Books were scattered across the floor. I got up and inspected the nearest one. There was a simple cover but I'd heard of it before. It was much more complicated than any book found at my house. My first guess was that I'd wandered off to Cherry Valance's house but I had no idea where that was. Outside the door, two people were talking but what they were saying was barely audible. I creaked the white door open slightly and the two of them looked at me,

"Hey, sleepy."

I can't believe it! I walked all the way to Jess's house on the south side of town while I was asleep. She and her friend were sitting at the coffee table sipping what I assumed was coffee. Her friend apologized,

"Sorry we didn't have any clothes that fit you."

Come to think of it, my pants didn't feel like jeans. Holy crap! They'd got me into sweat pants! Jess spoke up,

"The clothes you were wearing last night are drying in the bathroom and you can get them when I take you back."

My face soured. I didn't want to go home. Darry would probably yell at me again or worse, promise he wouldn't than do it again.

"Would you mind tellin' us what happened last night?"

It all came flooding back to me,

"What do you know?"

She sipped her coffee and replied,

"Know that lump on your head? That happened about two in the mornin'. I was sleeping when there was loud bang on my door. Somebody'd done a faceplant into the door and didn't even wake up."

I was surprised that I was that tired,

"Last thing I remember was falling asleep in the middle of nowhere."

The other girl stared at me, shocked,

"You walked here _asleep_? Without getting run over? I can't even get here on three cups of caff without my life being threatened."

Jess put down her cup,

"I'm sorry, Pony. This is my little sister, Becca. Becca this is my friend from school, Ponyboy Curtis."

Becca looked me up and down before smiling sweetly at me.

"Now, why were you in the middle of nowhere in the first place?"

So, I told her the whole story. She sat and stared at me between sips.

"Pony, I want to talk to you about this fight with Darry. But first, let's have some breakfast."

Becca asked me nicely,

"Eggs, waffles, or french toast?"

They reminded me how my stomach was rumbling,

"French toast and eggs, er, please."

They placed a grate steaming plate of toast and eggs in front of me and I dug in. Becca sat with me while I ate. She looked around 15 and had long pretty brown hair. Jess was ruffling through papers by the phone and she picked up a little yellow paper and dialed the number on the phone.

"Hello? Sodapop? Yes, it's me, Jess. I'm doin' ok, you? Oh, I'm sorry about that. But about that, Ponyboy's over here—Yes, he's completely fine. I'll bring him back in a little bit. How's Darry? Oh? That's too bad. Well, we'll see you soon, bye."

She looked at me accusingly.

"Your brothers are really worried about you."

Man, this french toast was good,

"Soda probably is."

Jess got surprisingly red,

"Darry hasn't said a word since you left. You really hurt him, Pony. I know you think he doesn't care about you but I know he does. Everything he does is for you and Sodapop even his four jobs. Yeah, I said four. Darry has to do the job of a mom, a dad, a big brother, and a roofer. You should be helping him out instead of making things harder for him. Doing this, keeping you guys above water, is harder than anything physical he could do. And every time you run away, it only gets harder on Darry. Running away doesn't solve anything anyway. Sometimes you just have to stand there and punch the wall."

I know Darry's trying and I don't want to make it hard on him but sometimes he just makes me so mad,

"I think I should go home, now."

Jess smiled happily at me as she grabber her keys and a switch.

"How do you know so much about Darry?"

A sly grin came over her face,

"I have some relations with Darry's situation."

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**Weeeeeeeeeell? What'd you think? Please Review **


	3. One Big Nightmare

**Chapter 3**

**Finally, the third chapter is up. This is the big epic chapter where...well...you'll see. . Holy crud that was intense to type. whew Maybe the longest yet but the best. Please review. **

**Disclaimer: I should own Darry. I should own Steve. But I don't. I don't own any of the guys...I do own, in fact, Becca (that's my friend), Jess (that's me), and Ms. Runyan (that's my 3rd period teacher. lol.)**

** Have fun!**

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Jess ushered me out the lot in front of the building where this tuff red convertible was sitting.

"Are we going in _that_?"

She beamed at me,

"Oh, yeah. That's my baby."

I laughed and told her,

"They're probably gonna think we're a couple of Socs and beat us up."

She laughed and ruffled my hair as we jumped in. Oi, this car was tuff. I felt completely out of place just sitting in it. Especially since I was used to cars like Steve and Darry's that were beat up and desperately needed a paint job.

"Got a weed?"

I asked trying to remember if she smoked. But before I could recall, she reached in her pocket and tossed me a pack of Marlboros. Those at least made me feel more comfortable. Jess wasn't much different from what I'd remembered. A bit taller but still short, around 5'3". Everyone always teased her for being so short and called her things like dynamite (because she was short and red was what they said). She had dirty blonde hair that went just below her shoulders and curled naturally in every way possible. Jess didn't dress like the other girls at school and she was much different too. She was a greaser girl but not a greasy girl. She wasn't the type of girl like Sylvia who'd where short skirts and hit on every guy but more like us. Jess just wore some nice jeans a plain T with a nice jacket. And of course, she always had the switch in her back pocket. She was awful good looking and she knew it, too. Whenever Steve saw her, he always said she had a nice rack. Personally, I don't look at those kinda things…

When we pulled up in front of my house, I could see Darry standing in the window looking stern. Uh-oh. He left view and the whole gang came out, spare Soda interestingly enough.

"Get outta here, Socs! 'Fore we kick your asses into next week."

Two-Bit called. Jess smiled and hopped out of the car. Soda ran out past Darry and the rest of the gang and stopped in front of the car. I jumped out and he hugged me. I was home and it was great. Darry gave me a great big bear hug. It was stupid to think he didn't love me.

"I missed you."

I whispered to him and a tear ran down his cheek.

"And I'm sorry."

A few minutes later, he let me down and started talking to Jess. The rest of the gang was marveling at her car. All of us went inside and ate the lunch Darry'd made an hour ago. I heard Jess comment, reaching for the corn,

"Sodapop Curtis, you get cuter every time I see you. There must be ladies bustin' your door down."

He blushed slightly and flashed her his famous grin. All of us laughed at him.

"I guess bein' cute runs in this family."

Darry blushed such a deep red that I had to tease him. It was fun seeing Jess again since I'd forgotten how much fun she was. Everyone seemed happier tonight, even Darry. No, especially Darry.

It was strange, 'cause for the next few days, Darry kept comin' home later and later. Usually, with coffee or some fancy dessert or something. But everyday he was in a good mood. He stopped yelling at me and I found this as a welcome change. The one day Darry came home on time from work, I found out that Dally had been in the cooler since he knocked over the U Tote Em. He got out today and stopped by the house. Dally had been different ever since Johnny died. Now Dal barely laughed and he stopped making his little jokes. He was always in a dangerous mood or at least on the edge of one. This worried me…

"Where've you been goin' after work, Dar?"

Soda asked curiously. Where had he been going? Dar looked up from his newspaper.

"I stop by that café on Brewer's street."

Café…Brewer's street…where was that familiar?

"Who works there?"

Darry blushed again,

"Uh, that's Jess's second job. She's a waitress down there."

Soda cocked an eyebrow as the door slammed behind me,

"Hey y'all. What's hangin'?"

Definitely Two-Bit. Soda felt that he had to answer,

"Dar's got a girlfriend."

Again, Darry blushed and tried to read his paper. Mr. Matthews loved the oppurtunity,

"As a matter of fact, I did see you walkin' awful close to Ms. Runyan."

"SHE'S 83!"

Darry yelled as he threw a shoe at Two-Bit. Ha!

"No, but seriously,"

Pah! Like he ever did anything seriously,

"Who is the lucky lady?"

Hiding behind his paper, Darry mumbled,

"It's Jess, alright."

Two-Bit grabbed a beer,

"Jess! That gorgeous woman? I'm just glad she'll be hangin' around more, if you know what I mean. But somebody oughta tell Steve. He's been hitting on her all week. Hell, even I've taken a few shots."

The next afternoon, Dally called. He seemed strangely serene.

"Um, I'm ok, Pony. Can I talk to Darry?"

Darry looked equally worried as he listened to the oddly hushed tones of Dallas Winston. The phone went down on the ringer and Darry told us,

"Dal wants us all to go meet him at the vacant lot across town to talk."

Well, if that ain't the weirdest thing I'd heard all week. That was awful suspicious; why didn't he just talk on the phone or come over and tell us?

"When?"

I asked him.

"Around seven."

Dar told me. Soda came in and we explained the strange call to him and he didn't get it either. I was appointed to call the rest of the gang and tell them about the meeting. Everyone was just as worried as I was.

At 6:45, we piled into the truck and drove off to the lot. Dally's blue pick-up was parked there when we arrived. He was leaning against it smoking and studying his shoe. Steve was there already but he apparently just got there. Dally checked his watch and walked over. Man, he looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot and it seemed as if he hadn't taken a shower in awhile.

"All of you, stand over there."

He ordered us. This was just getting weirder and weirder. Slowly, we walked over and obeyed. He chuckled and threw down his weed,

"Dally?"

His smile faded as he pulled out a heater and pointed it at us. In turn, we all took a step back. What was going on! No. This was a dream. Or a joke. Or something. This wasn't real. He would n-never do it. But his face was dead serious. As if he read my mind,

"Yeah, this is really happening. And the gun's loaded, too."

He took a second to show us the bullets before aiming it at us. Please, Dally, tell me it's a joke.

"I'm sick of this."

Dallas started,

"Darrel Curtis has the perfect life: A loving family, a gorgeous girlfriend, a nice job. You don't know what tough is. Your life is heaven compared to mine. I got nothin' but still Darry's the tough guy. Everyone thinks Darry's the big bad boy but he's not. He's got a great life. God fucking damn, his life is easy. And then there's the runt."

That stung.

"little boy, Pony. The wimp cries every time he gets a wittle bitty paper cut and there's his big brother Sodapop to kiss him 'til he stops crying. You people make me **sick**. You go around whining about your terrible lives, well you have no right to be cryin'!"

He faltered in his balance and started chokin' up.

"Johnny…Johnny had a tough life. He had a right. He knew what it was like. But he's gone. The one person in the world I cared about and he's gone. The one person I could relate to. Who cared about me. But he's dead. And I got no one. YOU DON'T KNOW! So I'll give you a taste of what it's like to have a tough life!"

Dallas moved his aim from Darry to me. I clenched and squeezed my eyes shut. One shot sounded then…two? It was silent. Either getting shot didn't hurt as much as I'd thought or he'd missed. Slowly, I opened my eyes and I was standing alone. Where was everyone? Straight ahead, Dally was on the ground, bleeding…twitching. My vision adjusted to the dark and there was…Two-Bit! Two-Bit Matthews was standing along holding a gun, shaking and crying. Darry. What'd happened to Darry? Was he ok? Looking around wildly, I noticed Jess's car parked a little ways away but I had to find Darry. The next thing I saw was Darry on the ground and my heart sank. But he was kneeling and sobbing next to someone else. Who was it?

…

No.

That wasn't Soda. That was someone else. Anyone else. Soda's not here. My eyes clenched again and the tears flowed. Through the stream, I saw Jess carry the person that wasn't Soda to her car. It couldn't be Soda. It was someone else with tuff brown hair.

"No, no, no…"

I screamed as Jess burned rubber with Darry riding shotgun. Steve was sitting on his knees staring blankly at the ground. Two-Bit stared at the gun still in his hand and just stood there. Dallas had hurt my brother. Because of him, Soda was hurt. Because of him, Soda was going to die. Because of him…

I took out my switchblade from my back pocket and approached the body of my former friend. In quick, fluid motions, I cut up and slashed the body. Tears flew from my eyes as I screamed.

"Soda's going to die…You killed my brother you bastard! You son of a bitch…I love Soda. You killed my brother. Damn you!"

Blood oozed from my cuts but he didn't stir. My slashes became more frantic but he killed Soda.

I calmed down a bit and looked at my surroundings. Two-Bit and Steve were deathly silent as they sat on the ground.

"I didn't know what else to do."

Two-Bit broke the silence,

"He was gonna kill you, Pony. He was gonna kill someone. It was like a dream and I want to wake up."

He sobbed into his hands.

"I want to wake up. I want to. But I can't. I can't. The trigger pulled itself and he fell. Now he's dead and Soda's hurt."

"This is a nightmare."

Steve mumbled. I lay down on the hard black top and closed my eyes,

"When I wake up, Darry'll be cookin' breakfast, Soda will be wrestlin' with Steve. Dally will have turned up the radio so loud I can think."

For the first time in awhile, I smiled and drifted off to sleep.

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	4. From Bad to Good to Bad Again

**Chapter 4: From Bad, to Good, to Bad Again. **

** 'Bout damn time I got this up. I know this is kinda confusing at the end but it will only get more confusing before you get enlightened with what the heck is going on. But it'll make sense in awhile.  
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**Disc: Must I do this every time? I don't own any of the original characters (though I'd like to think I own Darry and Steve for that matter) But I DO own Jess, Becca, Emily, Mel, Johanna, Laurel, Jordan, etc etc. **

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But this time, I didn't get my wish. I was still sleeping on the cold black ground when someone shook me awake. Jess was looking mighty disheveled as rather tired. Steve and Two-Bit were still with me even tough they had both their cars and could've left at any time. We split up again and I went with Jess,

"Where're we goin'?"

Please don't say the hospital. Please.

"Back to your house. Darry and Soda just got back from the hospital."

At the sound of Soda's name, my eyes lit up,

"Is he ok?"

She nodded,

"Yeah, his shoulder's still hurt though."

I was so relieved to hear that he was ok.

"And Darry?"

"Sleep deprived but aren't we all."

I was just happy that everyone was ok that I let my eyelids fall and I slept. About 20 minutes later, someone hugged me vigorously. It was obviously Darry. How did I get inside? Soda. Was Soda ok? Immediately, my senses were awake. Across the room I saw him. Sitting in the armchair with some pretty girl who was wrapping his bandages. Her hair was dark and curly and looked good in a ponytail. She had big pretty brown eyes and a nice smile. I found it funny that the ribbon around her neck matched the jacket she was wearing and so did the ties in her hair. She was awful pretty and I could see that she'd taken to Sodapop.

Without thinking, I ran over and hugged him.

"Ow, Pony leggo."

He yelled. Duh! His arm…

"Break my other arm whydon'tcha!"

The girl giggled along with him and continued wrapping his arm. Jess stepped in,

"Oh, Mel. Ponyboy, this is my friend Melissa but we all call her Mel. Mel this is my friend and Sodapop's little brother, Ponyboy. And Mel, you've met Darry."

She tipped her head at me and looked back at Jess,

"Well, with all the times you talk about Darry I feel like I know him."

Jess smiled widely at Darry. Dar was on the couch when Jess sat down next to him. They started talking in hushed tones so I couldn't hear. When I tried to listen in, they stopped talking and hugged each other.

"I'm headed down to the Nightly Double later. Anyone care to join me?"

Steve asked rather loudly. Heck, I wouldn't mind a movie,

"Sure. If Darry doesn't mind."

I put on my saddest puppy face and he peered at me from the kitchen,

"Hmm, that's ok with me."

Two-Bit piped up,

"How 'bout you come with?"

He looked torn,

"I was plannin' on headin' down to the gym…"

Now Soda started in on him,

"Oh, come on, Superman. Ain't your muscles big enough?"

Dar smiled at him and thought,

"I guess I could go."

So now, me, Steve, Two-Bit, Darry, and Soda were headed down to the movies. Funny, that's the whole gang. I hadn't been to the movies since…since that night. That night that caused the chain reaction. I just hoped this time went better.

Steve came by looking rather snazzy while the rest of us were sprucing. We try to always get spruced up before going out. We gotta look our best.

We all jumped into Two-Bit's car and drove off. Two-Bit and Soda were extra crazy and still hadn't had a drop of alcohol. Soda stuck his head out the window and lifted up his shirt to some passing girls. They giggled and blew him a kiss. Steve yelled some dirty remarks at them and they just laughed. Some group of Socs were walking around and Two-Bit knocked one in the head with a tin can and drove off laughing hysterically. I decided to join in the fun and winked at a car full of girls we'd pulled up next to. The driver winked back and the one in the back left handed me her phone number. Two-Bit tried the same girls but they rolled their eyes at him and pulled off. Even Darry yelled something about greasers being awesome. The car took a sharp left turn and we pulled into the drive-in.

Two-Bit parked the car and we went to sit in the seats. Usually, we sat in the seats even if we did have a car. It was always too crowded. Steve flipped me a coin smoothly,

"Hey, kid, go get some cokes an' popcorn."

I caught the money and scooted off to the concession stand. The movie had just started so the line wasn't too long. I carried the five drinks back when someone caught my eye and made me freeze. Curly red hair. That was Cherry Valance. She was on the arm of some big time Soc who was named Jordan. She started laughing and seemed to be having a great time. My face felt hot and my ears burned. Some jeering interrupted my jealousy and I looked around to see what for. Seven girls were on the fence singin' and dancin'. They were rather good, too and pretty damn good lookin' for greasy girls. Steve yelled their way,

"TAKE IT OFF!"

People were shouting things like that all through the crowd. Even Soda and Two-Bit joined in,

"Marry me!"

"Dance your pretty little selves over this way!"

A flashlight showed up behind them and they stopped for a second. The man with the flashlight was a security guard and I could tell that he was askin' they stopped. People screamed for them to keep going on. He was on the outer side of the fence, so they jumped on the inner side and started skipping towards the core of the crowd. On their way, they did a few acrobatics followed by lots of laughing. Shoot, they were better than the movie. Everyone in the audience was roaring with laughter when the security guard tried to get over the fence but gave up 'cause he was too fat. By the time he got around, all the girls had disappeared. I noticed them reappear and sit down in the row in front of us. Immediately, I recognized Jess, Mel, and Bec. I assumed that they were all the Reds. Without her knowing it was him, Darry started to kiss Jess on the back of her neck. She whipped around sharply but smiled when she saw it was him.

"Hey, guys, fancy meetin' you here. If you don't mind, this odd group of ladies are my friends, Emily, Laurel, Emily, and Johanna."

I knew they were all pretty but, damn!

Emily had a deep deep red hair that cut off around the shoulders and fell smoothly in her face. She was kinda short but about as tall as Jess was. Just below her bangs were a pair of green eyes that had tints of red that matched her hair. Her eyes were mysterious yet playful somehow.

Johanna was taller than Emily, hey, Johanna was the tallest one of all of 'em. She had shorter curly brown hair that was pinned back on one side by a blue pin and fell in her face on the other. Her face looked soft and sweet but pretty. Her eyes were much different from Emily's and, instead, were a dark brown that seemed happy and fun.

Wow, Laurel was, wow. Her face was rounder and her long brown hair framed it perfectly. I noticed that her hair fell perfectly in layers. Laurel's eyes were green. A dark dark green that were gorgeous. Her eyes reminded me of some ring I'd seen in a store or something. She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. Oi! I was in trouble if she liked me…

We got up and intermixed ourselves with them so it went: Steve, Jess, Darry, Becca, Soda, Mel, me, Laurel, Two-Bit, Emily, and Johanna. I glanced around to try and find Cherry and three rows down, she was sitting with her boyfriend, Jordan. To my horror, **she** leaned over and started to kiss **him**. My ears were burning red as I threw a piece of popcorn at them. It hit Cherry in the back of the head and she looked at me. I immediately, leaned over and kissed Laurel. I saw Cherry's eyes narrow out of the corner of my eye and it hit me, this was my first kiss! Don't mess it up. Don't mess it up. I tried to imitate something I saw Steve do by putting my hand behind her ear and stroking lightly. We pulled away slowly and stared at each other. Everyone I knew had stopped whatever they'd been doing and stared at us. Laurel was blushing something fierce and I peered at my shoe. The gaze shifted from me straight to Darry who smiled and told me,

"Don't grow up too fast, Ponyboy."

That one line broke all the tension. I never imagined my first kiss to be with so many…people around. Come to think of it, I'd never imagined my first kiss. That's probably more of a girl thing.

"I'll be right back."

She told me before edging out of the seats. After she left, all the girls got up simultaneously and left after Laurel. This seemed a bit strange until I noticed that Cherry's seat was also empty. Steve took out a comb and ran it through his coal-black hair. Suddenly, I couldn't get over how pretty Laurel was. Darry swooned dreamily,

"Ain't they great?"

As if on cue, we all sighed 'yeah' at the same time and tone.

"Those are some of the best lookin' girl I ever seen."

Soda smiled.

"And trust me, he's seen some good lookin' chickadees."

Steve stated. We waited about 8 minutes before getting impatient. I noticed Jordan get up and disappear after the girls. A scream pierced through me. Security guards drew their guns and ran toward the concession stand. I didn't notice it but all of us were standing up and staring at the same place. Oh god, please don't shoot. Please. All the guys, except for me, vaulted over the chairs and ran off. I felt glued to my spot. There was some more yelling and tires screeching. No shots, yes. The gang came wandering back and I heard Soda muttering,

"Jesus Christ."

Darry patted my shoulder softly,

"Let's go home, Ponyboy."

The ride home was awful quiet and like I said, I hate quiet. Two-Bit was wide-eyed and awful jumpy.


	5. Because of you!

**Well, it's about freakin' time I got this up. Yeesh. This is where you find out what actually happened at the movies. Enjoy!**

**Disc: I do not own the Outsiders or any o' them. I should but I don't. **

* * *

What happened in that concession stand? I still haven't pieced it together. Without Darry asking, I brushed my teeth and got dressed for bed. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and Jess was there, panting,

"Is Bec here?"

Soda walked in drying his hair,

"Sorry, Jess."

She punched the wall.

"Aw, man. Shit. Shit. Shit."

"You don't know where she is?"

"No. And I've looked all over town."

"Don't worry, she'll turn up and everything will be ok."

"I sure hope you're right, Sodapop."

"Go home and get some sleep, alright."

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen but, heck, I'll try."

She left sullenly and her car pulled out of the driveway. Soda lay on the couch in his towel. That was getting to be a bad habit of his and it kinda bugged me.

"Poor Jess, this is really hard on her."

It was strangely silent and like I said, I don't like silence. I brought up the first subject that came to my mind,

"So how'd you meet Mel?"

He shut his eyes, leaned back, and smiled,

"Well, you know how Superman always picks me up from work so one day he made a stop down at the 19 (A.N. an auto shop where the girls work on the South side of town) to pick up Jess. I overheard Mel askin' a question about how to fix a muffler and since Jess was busy with somin', I let her know and we just started talkin' and we just have soooo much in common it's crazy. I musta stayed there 'til 11 just talkin to her. She's dropped by the DX a couple a times and…ah…she's great. Have you talked to Laurel?"

The question popped me out of what I was thinkin' of.

"Nah, but I'm gonna call her tomorrow."

He smiled and nodded in approval.

Next Day

I wanted to sleep all day long but I didn't have much of a choice when Steve and Two-Bit fell on me in their wrestling.

"Ow! Gaoffamee!"

I yelled into Steve's muscled arm. He laughed and put me in a headlock. Darry poked in,

"Good, you're up. Breakfast's ready."

I got up tiredly and yawned. As usual, the paper was lying on the table. A headline caught my eye,

Valance Attacked By Vicious Gang Member 

My eyes grew wide and I had the sudden urge to read it. I still had no idea what'd happened last night. Finally! Two-Bit stared at the paper for a second before picking it up and ripping it in to little pieces. His eyes were strangely cold as he looked at me seriously. I only saw three words,

"—now in hospital."

The next two days, Mel and Laurel stopped by to be around but I was surprised that Jess didn't. But today they didn't show up like usual. Around 8 o' clock at night, Laurel called,

"Pony, something's happened."

Her voice was unusually sad and a bit shaky.

"Becca's in the juvenile detention center. Jess's really torn up about it and we're worried. Sorry I can't tell you much more but I can't talk for long."

The line went dead and I put it back on the base. Darry noticed my unusual quietness,

"What's wrong, Pony?"

My voice sounded strange. Even to me.

"Becca's in juvie."

Darry was silent for a minute,

"She got caught…"

I really wish someone would tell me what happened. The phone rang again and this time Darry answered,

"Hello? What! I'll be right there."

He slammed it down and grabbed his jacket. Soda ran out and took his jacket too. I jumped in the car and we drove off. Darry was most definitely speeding but I believed he had a good reason. He explained,

"Jess's headed down to the hospital and we're afraid she's gonna kill that Soc girl. She's really ticked off."

My eyes widened. This sounded bad. I'd heard of Jess's bad temper and I'd assume she be more pissed off right now. Darry screeched to a halt taking up at least three parking spots and jumped out. They said Jess was here but I didn't see her sweet car anywhere. We ran to the receptionist and to my shock, Darry pulled out a switchblade,

"Where's the Valance girl's room!"

With her hands shaking, she scrolled down the list of patients,

"C-21."

Her voice was barely audible it was shaking so badly. I'd never known Darry to pull a switch on anyone. Heck, I didn't think he had one he didn't really need one. He pushed Soda to the elevator. I knew the stairs were faster so I sidetracked and charged up the stairs. C-18, C-19, C-20, ah, C-21! Mel, Laurel, Johanna, and Emily were already there and were pounding on the door,

"Open up, Jess! Come on!"

Soda and Darry ran up behind me,

"What's going on?"

Soda asked, trying to open the door. Emily answered, frustrated,

"Jess got here before we had a chance to and locked the door on us."

We all became silent so we could listen in on the conversation.

"Oh you poor poor child. You poor child. You poor filthy rich child. Let me tell you something, honey, it's not that easy for everyone. If I get my leg broken, mommy and daddy can't whisk me away for the best medical treatment in Oklahoma. Yet, somehow, you—you get this pathetic little cut that doesn't even touch the bone and I'm supposed to feel sorry for you!"

"You have no idea how much pain I'm in."

"_I _have no idea about the pain! Because of you, my only worth while family is in juvie. Because of you I may never see her again."

Her voice was rising dangerously quickly.

"Because of you…you! Had to get defensive and lose your pathetic little temper. How come you throw a freaking fit and I lose a sister?"

A crash resonated and I heard Cherry yell,

"Maybe 'cause trash like you doesn't have the responsibility to do what needs to be done!"

Jess started to scream now,

"Don't you DARE tell me about responsibility you fucking whor! I had to drop out of school to take care of myself. I got kicked out of my fucking house cause I started out with bitches for parents. I work two god damn jobs, and I ain't talkin' about those glamorous jobs, I'm a god damn—GOD DAMN WAITRESS from 7 am 'til 6 pm. How many jobs are you working!"

A soft voice could be heard,

"None."

"None! None! But I thougt you were schooling my fucking ass on responsibility and you don't even have a job. Let me guess: you just mooch off of mommy and daddy if you need some money. Trust me, it's not that easy for me. I just can't ask mommy for the credit card and buy myself a new slutty outfit. Isn't that right you bitch! Jesus Christ, I can't believe you. It's god damned people like you that seriously tick me off. It's god damned rich bitches like you I can't stand. AND FOR GOOD FUCKING REASONS!"

"I'm going in."

Darry yelled as he backed up to knock the door down. The door clicked open and Jess walked out avoiding all eye contact and staring at the floor as she walked calmly towards the elevator. Cherry was standing next to the bed, looking scared to death. Darry, Emily, and Johanna went off chasing Jess. I'm sick of this. I turned to Mel and demanded,

"What happened that night!"

Mel stared at her shoe for a second,

"That Valance girl…She saw you kissing Laurel and got kinda hacked off. So when she started to follow Laurel, we went after them to make sure nothing bad happened. When we got there, the redhead was screaming at Laurel something about 'not hurting sweet hearted guys'. Jess started to warn the chick and she started to threaten us. Saying that if anything happened, 'we'd be beat down so fast it would make our dirty little heads spin.' Who did that bitch think she was? Anyway, her boyfriend cam in and she started tellin' him all these lies and so he started threaten' us. I guess Bec was just fed up with it 'cause she just pulled out a switch and slashed the redhead straight down the arm. And pretty good, too, all the way from her shoulder to her wrist. I guess the guys saw the whole thing 'cause Soda and the rest of 'em just stood right next to us. The girl started screamin' her head off and fainted or somethin'. All of us just stared and Bec started running when the guards came in with their guns. Two-Bit was standin' right next to me and his eyes got wide and he started to breath awful hard. I thought he was gonna hyperventilate or somethin'. Bec took Jess's car and tore off. We jumped into my car but we'd lost her by then. And last night, the cops stopped Bec for a speeding violation and took her down to the station. When they pulled up a file, she was sent to juvie and they just called Jess to tell her. And now…"

She gave a look back into the room, but I had turned as white as a sheet. This…all of this…was my fault. Because of me…not Cherry. Me. I just might've ruined Jess's and Becca's lives. Becca's in juvie because of me. Oh, man. I started breathing real heavy. Why wasn't anyone blaming me? My fault, my fault, my fault.

"Pony!"

Soda shouted. I'd collapsed on the ground. Me, I had to show off. I had to get jealous. Why couldn't I just kept my temper under control? I never use my head. My breathing became so frantic I passed out right there.


	6. Yeah we're cool

**This is the end of Part I. But I have more than twice this for Part II and I'm not even finished with it. Hope you enjoy reading it and look for a different story: Picking Up the Pieces: Part II. **

**Disc: I still don't own the Outsiders but I keep tryin'. **

* * *

There was a wet towel on my head when I woke up. Darry was reading the paper and Two-Bit was watching cartoons. This looked like a normal day…

Soda and Steve were at the table playing poker. I checked the clock and it said 11 a.m.

"Whoa, how long was I out for?"

Soda folded his hand and told me,

"About a whole day, kiddo."

Without acknowledging the last sentence, I asked,

"Where's Jess?"

Darry told me without even looking up,

"At Becca's trial. She left about an hour ago and she's gonna be back anytime now."

Wow, that was pretty quick for a trial. Trial…Becca could get out! Erk, I hope it's going well. My stomach rumbled so loudly that Steve laughed and tossed me a sticky piece of cake. It was sure good. In the kitchen was the rest of the cake. Half-eaten but I wasn't really picky at this point. Darry's foot was tapping incessently and I could tell he was nervous. Trial…trial…trial. My mind wouldn't get off of it. This was killing me.

There was some sort of ruckus going on outside and the door banged open so loud it made me cringe. Johanna, Emily, Mel, Laurel, Jess, and…Becca came into the house whooping and hollering and still in the proper clothes they'd worn to the trial. It was interesting seeing them in fancy buisness clothes. Becca was throwing back a bottle of champagne which was soon passed around. Darry jumped up,

"You won!"

I yelled back to him,

"Do you even have to ask?"

Steve turned on the radio at some ear shattering volume, just like he likes it and Two-Bit handed out some beers. As soon as they could get it, it was a party. Everyone was dancing and drinking and nobody really cared. Laurel kissed me cheerily and I was glad there were no reprecussions this time. I kissed her back roughly and she smiled broadly at me. After ten minutes had passed, everyone had kissed everyone. Darry kissed Jess. Steve kissed Jess. Jess kissed them both lots and lots. Mel kissed Soda and vice versa. Emily kissed Two-Bit. Becca kissed me. Laurel kissed me. Becca kissed Sodapop. Johanna kissed Two-Bit. Two-Bit kissed everyone and after awhile, I lost track. But heck, it was a good time. After the fourth straight hour, things started to calm down. For the first time in awhile, I was alone with Jess. Ooh, awkward.

"Um, Jess? I—I'm really sorry that I caused this whole mess. I didn't think something like this would happen."

She took a drag on her cancer stick and replied in a stern voice that kind of surprised me,

"I forgive you."

What! I almost ruined her life and she forgives me, just like that? I was so confused. Seeing my face, she repeated,

"I forgive you, Ponyboy."

This was weird.

"But, why?"

She sighed at stared at me. Her eyes had a sort of aspect that Darry's did when he was hacked off. I could see stone in her eyes that she used to penetrate any idea of toughness I had. This made no sense. She said she forgived me, but I could tell she didn't. That she'd like to whack me around a few times right now.

"Because Darry told me to."

Darry did what! She continued,

"He told me that you just let your pride get the better of you and you had no way of knowing what would happen."

I didn't really know how to feel. She stared at me and there was a very awkward silence. I thought about this for a second,

"So, we're…cool?"

She closed her eyes, sighed again and answered,

"Yes, Ponyboy Curtis, we're cool."

**The End of Part 1 **

**But Chapter 1 of Part 2 coming soon**


	7. Restarting the Game

**Picking Up the Pieces-Part 2**

**I decided not to put it as a different one and just be one of those stories with a billion chapters. Oh well. Hope you like it. **

**Disc: I own all the chicks. 'sept for Cherry. None of the guys (boo hoo) **

* * *

I'd wished this wouldn't happen. I wanted everything to be back to normal, but I saw it. It was different now; she was different. For that split-second, I'd seen it. Earlier in the evening, Becca had glanced at me and the once playful pretty brown eyes were stone-cold. This was unbelievable, she hated me. I buried my face in the pillow and heard a groan come from the log next to me I call my brother. Usually, he slept like a rock and Darry was the light sleeper. Quietly, I crept out of bed and creaked open the front door. Every once in awhile, I sat on the porch steps and stared at the weird patterns in the fading stars. Nobody can ever find the crazy shapes I managed to see in the stars. Looking up, I could make out a couch, a guitar, and a window.

"Ah, she hates me!"

Came out frustratedly. It bothered me so much when people hated me. I just feel so guilty and for this I should. For what I did to them…I'm just surprised that Jess is able to speak to me.

"I almost ruined Becca's life and she hates me! Stupid, stupid, stupid."

My hands beat on my head a few times while I chanted 'stupid' at myself. The beating stopped when Darry caught my right arm.

"Kid…"

Busted.

He sat next to me,

"Don't blame yourself. We're all allowed one major mistake, but no more."

Huh? Dad used to tell us that,

"But Becca hates me, now."

He gave a sleepy half-smile and shrugged,

"Give it time. She won't be mad at you forever. Now get inside before you freeze your arms off. You didn't even get a jacket…"

He trailed off to a mumble. I scurried back in bed and fell back asleep, feeling much better.

Steve, Two-Bit, Becca, Emily, Johanna, Mel, and Laurel were all sleeping in the living room wherever they could fit last night but they weren't there no more. A large ruckus was coming from the kitchen and I poked my head in. Jess, Darry, Two-Bit, Soda, Mel, Steve, and Laurel were milling about. Upon seeing me, Laurel kissed my cheek and wrapped her arms around me,

"Mornin', sunshine."

I smiled,

"Hey, Laurel."

She took my hand and pulled me to the center of the kitchen. Jess was humming something sweetly and Darry grabbed her waist and ushered her into him while gently kissing her neck. Soda and Mel were dancing around wildly. I heard Two-Bit whisper to Steve,

"Join the club."

I picked up some toast and slathered some jelly on it. Two-Bit was chasing Steve around for his beer back.

"Well, kiddos, I'd better get down to work before the cars start pilin' up on each other."

Jess said standing up. I wonder,

"Hey Jess, where do you work again?"

She was putting on her jacket and tryin' to eat a donut,

"Part-time at the 19 and part-time at the café."

Soda put down his chocolate milk, revealing a big chocolate mustache,

"The 19! You chicks are our biggest competition."

Laurel spoke up,

"We all work down there but Jess pretty much fixes all the cars. Mel's learnin'."

Steve looked surprised,

"You fix **all** the cars?"

She nodded and lit a cancer stick. Darry stood up and gave her a cough long kiss before she left.

"You'd better get dressed, little buddy."

He told me cheerily. I did as he said and Soda drove me to school.

"How ya' doin'?"

Soda asked in the car. At first, I thought he was talking to me but Steve answered,

"Er, ok I guess. You know it's hard."

What were they talking about,

"What's wrong, Steve?"

Interestingly enough, there was no answer,

"Get to class, Pony. You're gonna be late."

Kind of confused, I walked up to the doors and waved back at them.

School was awful boring today but Cherry was back and out of the hospital. No one was around so I walked up to her locker,

"H—Hey, Cherry."

She was so surprised to see me,

"Hi, Ponyboy."

"How ya' feelin'?"

"Um…ok."

"Is your arm alright?"

"Not really but it'll do."

I noticed her looking around worriedly,

"Ponyboy, I think you should go."

Man, I didn't want to go. I was sick of being separated like this.

"Oh…ok then."

Now she looked hurt. Make up your mind!

"Pony, I didn't mean it like that."

A rough voice interrupted,

"Like what, baby?"

Cherry cursed softly,

"Nothing, Jordan, honey."

Ugh, this guy again. He glared at me viciously,

"You sure, Cherry Muffin? This trash botherin' you?"

"No! Jordan, baby, I'll talk to you later."

He passed by and shoved me with his shoulder so he knocked me down. Cherry whispered,

"I'm sorry, Ponyboy, I don't think we should talk anymore."

I knew it was coming but it didn't make it any less painful. God, I hate this damn separation thing. Just 'cause we're different—no we weren't that different. Our friends were just different. The whole day, I was distracted by that lousy meeting with Cherry.

At home, I threw my books down and everything in my backpack scattered everywhere. A piece of paper covered with hearts fell out. Laurel's name and number was on it. She gave it to me in science and I felt like putting hearts all over it. Nobody was home yet so everything was awful boring.

"Aw, what the heck."

I spun the number. A pretty voice answered,

"Hello?"

I responded but my voice cracked,

"Hi, is this Laurel."

She giggled and yelled away from the phone,

"Laurel, telephone!"

Another pretty voice cam on,

"Hello?"

"Hi, Laurel."

"Ponyboy is that you?"

"Yup."

"So, what's going on?"

"Just wanted to hear your voice."

"Tee-hee. That's so sweet."

I don't know why I told her but I felt that she needed to know,

"Cherry Valance was at school today."

No response.

"We talked for awhile."

"What happened?"

"She told me that I couldn't talk to her anymore."

"How do you feel about that?"

"It just bugs me that all of us are separated for no reason. Why do we hate Socs? Why do that hate us?"

And I just went on and on and on actually having a real good conversation with someone…A real pretty someone. I saw the headlights of three cars pull up and I felt that I should go.


End file.
